Thursday, February 26, 2015

Remember when you started
your business?Did you have a formal
business plan?Did you keep your plans
to yourself until you were ready to launch?Did you want it to be perfect, with all your ducks in a row before you
started?

Guess what, that’s not how
it’s done these days.According to Sean
Wise, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University, as small
business owners we could benefit and learn by adopting some of the strategies used by today’s
startups.

At a recent event, he
outlined six ways startups are different today.

1.Startups
share, don’t keep it a secret

In the past, a new startup
was hush-hush.Everything about it was
kept secret and under wraps until the owner was ready to launch.

Well, not anymore.As part of the customer development process,
the startup lets the customers try it.In other words, as Wise said, “they get out of the building” and ask
what’s working or not.

2.Startups
fail fast and often

The end product or service
doesn’t need to be perfect, and so the start up is quite comfortable testing
things out, and through this hypothesis testing learn what to do next.It’s no coincidence, for example, that Amazon
sends suggestions to regular customers.They’ve tested this strategy and found out what is effective.

Wise’s advice – Let action
not assumptions drive your business.

3.Startups
don’t write business plans

Remember that lengthy
document – your business plan - that you sweated over before you started your
business?Well no more.Instead startups now use a business model
canvas to scope out their plans.

Using a white board and
post-it notes, the “plan” has a fluidity to it which seems appropriate given
how much your initial plans can change when starting out, and later down the
road. Samples of the model can be found
at www.businessmodelgeneration.com

4.Startups get ready, fire and then aim

They don’t try to be
perfect, and instead measure the results of their “launch” and adjust according
to feedback.

5.Startups co create with customers

Instead of approaching the
traditional sources of funding – banks, venture capitalists, etc… these startups
use crowdfunding as a way to get the necessary funds to start up. This process also
involves buy-in from their potential customers, creating a better outcome for
their end product/service.

6.Startups are innovative looking at ways to
deliver

Differently

A great example of this innovation, is
Netflix.Instead of going to Blockbuster,
picking up a movie, returning it and likely paying the late fees, Netflix came
up with the idea of streaming movies and TV series into your home.You don’t have to go anywhere, and if you
want, can binge watch your favourite series for the same price.

Letting go of the need to
be perfect seems integral to this new approach to starting a business and it’s
a good outlook to have whether you are in startup mode or more seasoned in
business.

So often we get hung up on
everything being just right before we launch, when reality is, there is always
something to learn, change and tweak.

What you would differently if you were starting up
now instead of when you did?

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Do you like to cook?How you operate in the kitchen can be an indicator of how you run your business.

For example, if you stick
to the letter of the law in your recipes, it is quite likely that you are not
so comfortable with risks. Whereas on the other hand, if you always tweaking a
recipe or making up your own, going with the flow is more your comfort zone,
which means you may not always stick to the tried and true.

I’ve written about this before, but recently I came to a couple of new conclusions.Being the long weekend, and loving to cook, I
decided to try some new recipes, which my husband will be quick to tell you,
with mixed results.

First a disclaimer, when
you live on a farm, miles from the local grocery store,

improvising on
ingredients becomes a way of life.So
when I decided to cook a Thai side dish that required molasses, I knew I was
stumped.

But guess what – you just
have to google what can replace molasses in a recipe, and your question is
answered.How cool is that?All of which shows that there is never one
right way to do something.

However, having said that,
the meal itself was not a great success.It tasted good, don’t get me wrong, but I cooked too much.I guess I still haven’t got used to cooking
for two, instead of four.

Not wanting to waste it, I
plunked most of the food on my husband’s plate.Now, we can do this in business when we give our clients too many
options or too much information – the end result is the same – overwhelm.

Just too much to take in
or eat in one sitting.So note to self,
think about the amount of information/food is sufficient and enough to whet
someone’s appetite, so they are ready for the next course.

My second lesson is when I
decided to follow a recipe – a new experience for me – but I misread it.I did it wrong.However, quickly realizing what I’d done, I went
with the flow, improvised and the end result was tasty.

The same is true in
business.You can be told what is
required and try to do it by the book, but if you goof or it doesn’t feel right,
all is not lost, you can do it differently.

When my children were
little, putting food on the table was frankly more of a chore.Just making sure they ate, liked the meals
was challenge enough.A bit like when
you start your business – you make do, accepting what works to keep your
clients happy.

Twelve years into my
business, I have come to realize that I can actually shape the menu – at work
and at home. I no longer have to offer the basics, I can afford to take risks and elaborate.

I know my ingredients and
I am not scared to mix them up – be it in the kitchen or in my business.What about you?

Thursday, February 12, 2015

There is a tree that stands next to the extension we built
at the farm.I am sure originally it was
upright, reaching to the sky, but with the new building, it now bends away so
it can still capture the light and continue to grow.

It makes me think of what we have to do to stay relevant in
our business – lean towards the light, listen to what the market is saying it
wants.The tree’s roots are strong, so
it is not in danger of falling over and if you have built your business on a
strong foundation, your company won’t be pushed over either.

But the key is to stay flexible; to stay current and nimble
enough to adapt and change to what the new marketplace wants and needs.So often we get stuck in our ways. “We’ve
always done it this way. People have
always loved this program.”Well, maybe
yes, but as the song goes ‘times are a changing’ and to stay alive, you may
find you have to change your offering too.

I find that when we are insistent in offering what we want
to offer, rather than what our customers want, we really run the risk of
getting it wrong.Keeping our ear to the
ground, listening to what people are saying (and not saying), helps us to stay on
track.

Changing it up, making it fun is one way to keep your
clients happy.Truth is, the same old, same
old – is just that, and personally I find that boring. I am always looking for new light, and like
the tree I am willing to bend to find it.

Friday, February 06, 2015

Recently I wrote a blog about there being strength in
numbers and at the time I was thinking more about women linking up and
supporting one another.

This week, I am looking at the big picture and how organizations,
rather than individuals, can work
together and partner up to make it a win-win for both.

I am on this path because Company of Women has just joined
up with the Holistic Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver.Now that may seem a long way off from our
Ontario-based organization, but for several months I have been debating whether to expand our health practitioners network to Vancouver.

When I was out there a couple of years ago, I met with some
of the movers and shakers about actually starting a chapter of Company of Women
in Vancouver.Their advice?That there were more than enough women’s
groups, and another one wasn’t needed.And I suspect what they didn’t say was and not one from out east, from
Toronto.

So I let that idea go, but one leader did suggest I look at
replicating our Health Practitioners Network and so I have been been working
with someone in Vancouver who was equally keen and we were gingerly building
our plans.

However, last week I was introduced to the new Vancouver
chapter of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce, and as I talked with
their energetic president, it became clear to me that there was little point in
reinventing the wheel and far better to get behind their efforts to recruit
health practitioners and offer programming to support them.

So that is exactly what we are doing.When you share similar goals and similar
audiences, it makes sense.Yes, I was
hoping to recruit more members in BC, but if I dig deeper on my ‘why,’ the
underlying drive was, as it always is, to support women in their
businesses.So we’re not the lead, but
really does that matter?When you let go
of your ego, and your need to be front and centre, so much more is achieved.It is the end result that counts.

I have confidence that this fledgling partnership will
blossom and in the end, it will be a win-win for both groups.

So ask yourself, is there someone I could partner with?Think about it, because when it works, it is
a thing of beauty.

About Me

Originally from Scotland, I emigrated to Canada over 30 years ago. I've had an eclectic career from running non-profit organizations, working for government on women's issues, to being editor of a magazine.

For past ten years have been running Company of Women, an organization that supports and connects women entrepreneurs.